Criminal investigators from the Lubań District Police Headquarters had long suspected that two residents of Lubań County might be involved in excise-tax crime. A joint operation with the National Revenue Administration confirmed the officers’ suspicions and led to the seizure of significant quantities of contraband.
– During the operation, officers searched, among other places, the garage of one of the suspected men, where they found nearly 1.3 million cigarettes of various brands without Polish excise stamps. The cigarettes were hidden in cardboard boxes – reports Police Commissioner Przemysław Ratajczyk from the Wrocław Provincial Police Headquarters. – In addition to tobacco, they also seized 12 bottles most likely containing illegal alcohol of unknown origin.
Officers discovered the remaining tobacco products, nearly 500,000 cigarettes, in utility rooms at the home of the second detainee.
The illegal tobacco was placed in a deposit, while the detainees, aged 29 and 54, were taken to police custody. Both have already been charged with violating fiscal regulations, and the prosecutor placed them under police supervision. The spokesperson said: – According to preliminary estimates, the depletion of the State Treasury due to unpaid taxes and excise duties connected with the men’s criminal activity may have exceeded PLN 2 million.